Vacuum-cleaner brush



G. R. PAULUS. VACUUM CLEANERBRUSH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12. 1918.

1,393,695, 1 1 Patented ont. 11, 1921.

5.5 I jzvyzz/z lUNITI-:D s'TA'llEs PA'iENT OFFICE.

GEORGE It. PAULLUS, OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED ELECTRICGOM- PANY, 0F CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

VACUUM-CLEANER BRUSH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 11, 1921.

Application led September 12, 1918. Serial No. 253,698.

`citizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county ofStark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Vacuum-Cleaner Brushes, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to the suction shoe or nozzle chamber of a vacuumcleaner, and the object of the improvement is to provide a rotarybrush'for taking up threads, ravelings, lint and other long.. light orfluffy materials, and to mount and 'operate the saine so as toefficiently perform its functions and to be readily and esaily lremovedand re placed forcleaning, repairing or renewlng.

In the use of vacuum cleaners, it is dlfficult to take up threads, longravelings, and lint from the nap of body brussels or velvety rugs andcarpets, for the reason that the;

strings ravelings and lint are so held by the liber of the nap that theycannot be removed by the suction of the machine.-

When a cleaning brush vis geared to and driven by a rotary fan or othervacuum pro-A ducing mechanism, it operates with a greater speed and morepositive action than is necessary or desirable, and it is also drivensolely in one direction; which excessive speed and positive action areinjurious to the floor coverings.

The present improvement overcomes these difficulties by utilizing one ofthe casters of the machine as a traction wheel from which the brush isdriven by a short resilient belt riding in a peripheral groove in thecaster; and for ready and easy removal and replacement, the axialspindle of the brush is detachably mounted between an engaging bearingat one end and a spring bearing at the other end.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated intheaccompanying drawings forming part hereof, in which- Figure 1 isa'perspective view of the u n der side of a suction shoe showing theimproved brush mounted therein;

Fig. 2, a longitudinal section showing the method of mounting the brushstem between 'its bearings; and

Fig. 3, a` fragmentary perspective View showing the method of engagingone endof the stem with its bearing.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

The forward and rear Walls 1 and 1a of the suction shoe are usuallyconnected or formed on the lower forward side of the fan case 2 of aportable electric machine, and the end walls 3 and 3al of the shoe arepreferably extended rearward frorn the body of the shoe and are joinedby rear walls 4 and 4 with adJacent side walls 5 and 5* to form bearingsand housings for the casters 6 and 6a located at 'the rear of the endsof the shoe. The wall 5 1s preferably extended forward to constituteVone end wall of the suction chamber? and the wall 5a preferablyterminates at the rear wall 1f* of the shoe, so that the wall 3a formsthe other end of the suction chamber.

The rotary tubular bearing 8 for one end of the tubular spindle 9 of thebrush 10, is swiveledat its outer end upon the journal 11 formed by thestem of the screw 12 secured in the end wall 3 of the shoe. This bearingextends through Vthe aperture 13'in the wall 5 and is provided inYitsinner end with the transverse. pin 14 adapted to engage With thenotches 15 in the end of the brush spindle 9, which in turn is adaptedto be entered neatly into the end of the tu-l bular bearing 8, as shownin Fig. 2.

The pivotal bearing 16 for the other end of the tubular spindle 9 of thebrush 10 is slidably swiveled by its cylindric head 17 lin thestationary tubular bearing 18 secured 'ing 8, as described.

By this construction and arrangement, when it is desired to remove orreplace the brush from its bearings, it is only necessary to move thetubular spindle of the brush longitudinally s o as to slide the pivotalbearing'l endwise in the stationary bearing 18, against the action ofthe spring 19, farv enough to disengage or engage the other end of thetubular spindle 9 with the rotary bearing` 8,-as the case may be; andwhen the brush spindle is engaged therewith,l it is evident that aturning of the rotary bearing will revolve thebrush upon the pivotalbearing 16 at the other end of the stem. y

The parts are so proportionedy and ar- A portion of the rotary bearing 8opposite the caster 6 is diagonally serrated crosswise, so as to providean adhering surface for the resilient cable or belt 205 and theperiphery of the caster 6'is provided with the annular groove 2l inwhich said belt is adapted to operate for rotating the brush,-

without coming contact with the floor or v its coverings.

By this construction and arrangement, it is obvious that as the cleaningshoe of the machine is moved forward and rearward.

over the objective surface, the caster 6 serves as .a traction wheel torotate the cleaning brush first one way and then the other; and thatwhile the driving belt 20 1 normally drives the brush in one directionor another, it may yet slide or slip around the traction caster 6 to asufficient extent to compensate for any stoppage there may be in therotation of the brush, without intertering in any way withA the actionof the vacuum creating mechanism. It is also evident that-by using aresilient material for the belt 20, its efficiency for driving the brushwill be increased, although it is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention to the use of a resilient belt.

claim:

l. In a vacuum cleaner suction shoe, screw plugs in the ends of theshoe, swveled bearings carried by the plugs, one of the bearings havingspring cushioned endwise movement, and a brush having an axial spindlefor detachable engagement with the swiveled bear- 40 ings by an endwisemovement of the spring cushioned bearing.

2. In a vacuum cleaner suction'shoe, screw lugs in the ends of the shoe,swiveled bearlngscarried by the plugs, one of the bearings having springcushioned endwise movement, a brush having an axial spindle fordetachableengagement with the swiveled bearings by an endwise movementof the spring cash` ioned bearing and means applied to one of thebearings for rotatin the brush.

, v GEORE R. PAULUS.

